Biological hazard protection store and collective bag

ABSTRACT

An innovated structure of biological protection collecting bag, having a medical grade filter screen installed inside the collecting bag, allowing free air flow into and out of the bag, thereby completely filtering and arresting pathogens inside the bag. Meanwhile, the bag opening is sealed by a plurality of airtight sealing strips, so the user can quickly and hermetically seal the bag without having to squeeze on the collecting bag, thereby effectively preventing pathogens from contaminating the ambient environment during handling and stacking processes.

BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Present Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a biological hazard protection store and collective bag, particularly to a store and collective bag that has a medical grade filter screen installed inside the bag and a plurality of airtight sealing strips to seal the bag opening.

[0003] 2. Description of Prior Act

[0004] The conventional bag used for collecting contaminative wastes usually has reserved a plastic string and a channel through which the plastic string is pulled to tighten the opening of the collecting bag. To facilitate convenient tying of the bag opening, the user would squeeze on the wastes contained inside the bag, which would cause vibration to the contaminative wastes in the bag. In this squeezing process, the gasified aerosol which contains bacteria and other pathogens would burst out of the opening of the collecting bag with airflow and spread to the ambient environment. Particularly, the gasified pathogens are often sucked through conventional indoor air conditioner to the central system, resulting in air-borne contamination inside a hospital, especially those stubborn pathogens, such as pulmonary tuberculosis bacillus. In a warm and humid weather, the pathogens staying inside the central air condition system will survive and proliferate drastically when the air conditioning system of a hospital is operating at reduced capacity at nighttime or on holidays.

[0005] Also, the gasified aerosol will flow around inside the ward and land on the entire item surface in the ward, including the body and the clothing of medical stuff. Consequently, the aerosol on these surfaces may be a source of iatrogenic infection contamination.

[0006] No matter how the bag opening is sealed, the conventional type of contaminative waste collecting bag could not serve hermetic sealing purpose nor prevent outflow of air and subsequent contamination. Especially, when the collecting bags are stacked on each other, the contaminated air which contain aerosol inside the bag is squeezed out of the bag by stacking weight, resulting in further contamination on the ambient environment.

[0007] In view of the foregoing shortcomings, it has become an imperative issue to make improvement on the sealing performance and infection containment of contaminative waste collecting bags, so as to facilitate risk-free handling, allowing free airflow into and out of the collecting bag, and arrest pathogens inside the bag to prevent further contamination spread out.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

[0008] It is an objective of the present invention to provide a type of biological hazard protection store and collective bag, having a plurality of airtight sealing strips provided at the opening of the store and collective bag with the aid of slider, to achieve the purpose of quick sealing without having to squeeze on the collecting bag. Importantly, a medical grade filter screen is installed inside the collecting bag to enable free airflow into and out of the bag, and effectively filtering and arresting of the pathogens inside the bag, so that the bag is capable of effectively preventing virus contamination during handling and stacking processes of the biological hazard waste.

[0009] It is a second objective of the present invention to provide a biological protection collecting bag, having an additional water-resistant vent layer installed on the inside of the medical grade filter screen to resist water but allow free airflow, so that when the biological protection collecting bag is used to contain liquid contaminants, there is no need for the sophisticated procedure to contain one bag with another outside bag, thereby preventing further contamination from liquid contaminants and effectively prevent virus infection and contamination during handling and stacking processes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

[0010]FIG. 1 is the schematic drawing of biological hazard protection store and collective bag of the invention comprising a vent filter device attached on the inside bag wall.

[0011]FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross sectional drawing to the vent filter device shown in FIG. 1.

[0012]FIG. 3 is a partial schematic drawing to another embodiment of biological hazard protection store and collective bag of the invention comprising another kind of vent filter device attached on the inside bag wall different from that of vent filter device shown in FIG. 1.

[0013]FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross sectional drawing to the vent filter device shown in FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRITION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] As shown in FIG. 1, the present invention of biological hazard protection store and collective bag 10 is consisted of a bag unit 20 and a vent filter device 30 that is installed on an inside of the bag wall of the bag unit 20.

[0015] Two or more layers of the opening of the bag unit 20 are folded inwardly. On the surface of the inner layer of bag opening is the formation of a plurality of airtight sealing strips 25. By fastening the airtight sealing strips 25, the opening of the bag unit 20 can be hermetically sealed. When the bag unit 20 is subjected to a large pressure, since the bag opening of the bag unit 20 is folded inwardly, the folded-in flap of the opening becomes the point to actually withstand the inside pressure of the bag unit 20. Therefore, the fastened airtight sealing strips 25 of the bag unit 20 will not burst due to the large pressure in the bag unit 20.

[0016] And, the bag unit 20 may be made from the materials capable of withstanding high heat steaming sterilization process. For example, the bag unit 20 may be made of linear high density PE for further making autoclave process.

[0017] The present invention of vent filter device 30 has two examples of embodiment. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the vent filter device 30 illustrated in the first embodiment has a base 31 attached on the inside bag wall of the bag unit 20. The surface of the base 31 is protruded to form a vent tube 34. By installing the vent tube 34 through the bag wall of the bag unit 20, air can flow into or out of the bag unit via the vent tube 34. Furthermore, a layer of medical grade filter screen 32 is attached to, or monolithically formed with the rear surface of the base 31. The medical grade filter screen 32 serves the filter function to filter and hermetically arrest germs or pathogens inside the bag unit 20. Thereby, the air coming out of the vent filter device 30, even if it carries a bad smell, is free from germs or pathogens and will not contaminate ambient environment.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 1, the present invention has a sealing cap 35 that is used to seal the vent tube 34 on the vent filter device 30, keeping the bad odor of the contaminative wastes from coming out of the biological hazard protection store and collective bag 10.

[0019] Another embodiment of the present invention of vent filter device 30 is illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. Provided on the ball of the bag unit 20 is the formation of pores or narrow air channels 26. Then, a layer of medical grade filter screen 32 is directly pasted over, or monolithically formed with the wall of the bag unit 20, to completely cover the air channels 26 on the bag unit 20. Using the air channels 26, air can flow into or out of the bag unit 20. Meanwhile, the medical grade filter screen 32 serves to filter and arrest germs or pathogens inside the bag unit 20.

[0020] Optionally, to prevent liquid contaminants from dampening the medical grade filter screen 32 on the vent filter device 30, which will result in contamination, another embodiment of the present invention shows, as in FIG. 4, an additional water-resistant vent layer 33 installed on the inside of the medical grade filter screen 32, the side in contact with the contaminant, to resist water while allowing air to pass through, so that gases may pass through the water-resistant vent layer 33, and be filtered by the medical grade filter screen 32. Optionally, water-absorbent materials (not drawn) are spread inside the bag unit 20 to absorb contaminative liquids, such as blood, water, and the like. Because of the foregoing features, the present invention of biological hazard protection store and collective bag 10 is free from the sophisticated procedures as found in conventional type of collecting bags that require an outside bag to contain an inside bag to achieve the purposes of biological protection against hazards and contamination.

[0021] The present invention of biological hazard protection store and collective bag 10 is suitable for applications in hospitals, medical institutions, labs, and animal farms, and can be used as sealing bags to contain forensic evidences and nuclear wastes.

[0022] Instead of squeezing the bag unit 20 of the biological protection collecting bag 10 after it has collected contaminative wastes, the user can quickly and hermetically seal the opening of the bag unit 20 simply by fastening the airtight sealing strips 25 on the opening of the bag unit 20. The vent filter device 30 on the bag unit 20 will perform its job to filter and completely arrest germs and pathogens inside the bag unit 20 while air flows into and out of the bag unit 20. Importantly, during handing and stacking processes, the opening fastened by the airtight sealing strips 25 will not be busted by heavy stacking weight, thereby achieving effective protection against virus infection and contamination. Optionally, high heat sterilization by steaming process can be performed on the bag unit 20 to achieve the purpose of thorough sterilization. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A biological hazard protection store and collective bag comprising a bag unit with opening having a plurality of airtight sealing strips, and the bag unit provides a vent filter device installed on inside bag wall of the bag unit, thereby allowing free flow of air into and out of the bag unit, wherein the vent filter device has a medical grade filter screen.
 2. The biological hazard protection store and collective bag of claim 1, wherein the opening of the bag unit is formed as two or more layers folded inwardly.
 3. The biological hazard protection store and collective bag of claim 1, wherein a water-resistant vent layer is installed on the medical grade filter screen of the vent filter device.
 4. The biological hazard protection store and collective bag of claim 2, wherein a water-resistant vent layer is installed on the medical grade filter screen of the vent filter device.
 5. The biological hazard protection store and collective bag of claim 2, wherein a layer of water absorbent materials is spread on inside of the bag unit.
 6. The biological hazard protection store and collective bag of claim 3, wherein a layer of water absorbent materials is spread on inside of the bag unit.
 7. The biological hazard protection store and collective bag of claim 4, wherein a layer of water absorbent materials is spread on inside of the bag unit.
 8. The biological hazard protection store and collective bag of claim 2, wherein the vent filter device has a base fixed on the bag wall, which surface of the base has a vent tube penetrating through the bag wall of the bag unit, and a medical grade filter screen is pasted over rear side of the base.
 9. The biological hazard protection store and collective bag of claim 3, wherein the vent filter device has a base fixed on the bag wall, which surface of the base has a vent tube penetrating through the bag wall of the bag unit, and a medical grade filter screen is pasted over rear side of the base.
 10. The biological hazard protection store and collective bag of claim 5, wherein the vent filter device has a base fixed on the bag wall, which surface of the base has a vent tube penetrating through the bag wall of the bag unit, and a medical grade filter screen is pasted over rear side of the base.
 11. The biological hazard protection store and collective bag of claim 8, wherein the vent filter device has a water-resistant vent layer is installed over the medical grade filter screen.
 12. The biological hazard protection store and collective bag of claim 2, wherein the bag unit is made of materials capable of withstanding high heat steaming sterilization process.
 13. The biological hazard protection store and collective bag of claim 8, wherein the vent filter device has a sealing cap covering on a vent tube on the base.
 14. The biological hazard protection store and collective bag of claim 2, wherein the bag wall of the bag unit has a formation of air channels completely covered by the medical grade filter screen on the bag wall of the bag unit.
 15. The biological hazard protection store and collective bag of claim 14, wherein a layer of water absorbent materials is spread on inside of the bag unit.
 16. The biological hazard protection store and collective bag of claim 14, wherein a water-resistant vent layer is installed on the medical grade filter screen
 17. The biological hazard protection store and collective bag of claim 15, wherein a water-resistant vent layer is installed on the medical grade filter screen
 18. The biological hazard protection store and collective bag of claim 14, wherein the air channels on the bag unit are shaped as pores.
 19. The biological hazard protection store and collective bag of claim 14, wherein, the air channels on the bag unit are shaped as narrow gaps.
 20. The biological hazard protection store and collective bag of claim 17, wherein, the air channels on the bag unit are shaped as narrow gaps. 